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PREFATORY NOTE 






These pages are cordially inscribed to my co-workers in the Bureau 
of War Risk Insurance. Criticism as to a few true and many alleged del- 
ficiencies of the Bureau have been widely circulated in the American 
Press. An institution which in the shortest possible time was compelled 
to recruit a body of 14,000 workers, and to enter into correspondence 
with every country, and persons in every walk of life, throughout the 
civilized world, could not escape being at times unsuccessful in its initial 
methods. 

Criticism, however, does not disprove the statement that the Bureau 
of War Risk Insurance is one of the best creations of the American or- 
ganizing genius. It has done admirable work. It has not only alleviated 
the untold sufferings of countless victims of the world Vt-ar, but has made 
the United States the seat of an international and beneficent brother- 
hood. 

Its members have been equal to the loftiness of their task. When 
its history Mill be written, every good American will better appreciate 
the efforts of thousands of modest workers who have given themselves 
to the utmost to the upraising of an institution, which the other nations 
may envy but which none has attempted to build on such majestic lines. 

The author wishes to express his thanks to Miss H. M. Sweet, Room 
135, Treasury, for having kindly typewritten the manuscript for the 
printer. 

A. PALMIERI 



BENEFICENT AMERICA 



In a classical work on the immigraticii problem, my at- 
tention was called to the following passage : "The immigration 
of fci-eigners into the United States hais been long recognized 
as one o our imp'Oitant social and political iproblems. Perhaps 
no other question has aroused more bitter feelings at times, or 
has calileicj out more lofty sentiments of altruistic purpcise. On 
the one hand, our government has been besought to protect 
our people from the degrading influence of the immigrant. On 
the other, it has been declared that our doors shculd never be 
closed against those 'suffering from religiouis or political per- 
secution. Generally speaking, there has been little difference 
of opinion regarding the latter sentiment. There has been 
great difference of opinion, however, relative to the effects, 
— economic, social and moral, of immigration upon American 
standards of living." (1) 

The immigration problem has a moral aspect. *'I>o the 
foreign immitrrants im^bibe the spirit, the sentiments, the 
ideals of America? These strangers cf all races and nations 
who come and <^ro ; will they help to make our history a;nd shape 
O'n' desti-'iies ?" The question was unansw^ered before the war. 
Now. that tho storm is over, we reply in the affirmative. The 
con«:tant unity of ])urpof.e if pM the sons of America, bcth by 
birth and by ado^itJon. has shown the groundlesbness of the 
opponents of immigration. 

The war has truly marked the greatest victory of Ameri- 

(1) J. V/. Jenks and W. J. Lauck. The Immigration Problem, New 
York, 1917, p. 2. 



can idealism. It has broug*ht into full Jigfht the magic power of 
what may be called the f ascina^tion of Ameiuoa. As soon as the 
trumpet was sounded, all the racial hatreds, the religious anti- 
nomies, the struggles of classes of alien immigrants, were su- 
perseded. The vision of America drawing the sword to fight 
for the dearest liberties of mankind, and the onward sweep cf 
democratic institutions filled all hearts and minds. The na^ 
tional conasdousness of all Americans, both native and foreign 
born,shone forth in broad daylight. The alien immigrants in- 
stinctively felt that it was an honor to rise in arms under the 
American flag, for the war waged by Aimerica marked a new 
era in the history of the ceaseless effort of the -human race 
towards a wider brotherhood of peoples and nations. 

The world war has put into full light this fact that when 
the hour of danger strikes, America can trust all the members 
of her great family. Those whom the migratory movement 
brought from old Europe into the healthy organic life of Ame- 
rican democracy have been Americans of spiritual lineage on 
the bloody battlefields of France, Belgium, Italy and Russia. 
Amerilca is indeed the only nat'on to ipossess the spiritual 
energy in the assimilation of foreign elements, to such a high 
degree las to transform them into flesh of her flesh and bone 
of her bone. 

It is in translating the foreign corresr>ondence of the Bu- 
reau of War Risk Insurance that the writer cf these pages 
realized the success of the Americanization of alien immi- 
<rrants to this country. By the tenn Americanization, I mean 
the 'Sipiritual evolution vrhich relieves the immigrants from 
the burden of racial prejudices, manners and customs brought 
froiri the old world, and imbues them with the American ^'deal 
of freedom and the political institutions which embody it. In 
the letters of the foreiorn born who have been serving under 
the American flag the spiritual Americanizafion alluded to pre- 
sents itself as an accomplished fact. They breathe the 'nurest 
love for American ddpals. Moreover, through the Bureau of 
War R^'isk Insurance, the relatives of those soldiers have felt 
the generous hand of America, and thus the spirit of Ameri- 
cani'^oii has expanded beyond its political frontiers. In the 
hearts of many who have never come to this country, America 
is looked upon as the nation predestined to weave the golden 
bonds of international Icve. 

The foreign correspondence of the Bureau of War Risk In- 
surance is handled by few translators, who, after a short ne- 
riod of inevitable groping, found their own way and fulfilled 
their task to the best cf their capacity. The earliest docunipnts 
translated by them were written in French, Spanish, Italian. 



Soon, however, the phiioiogical task of the Bureau increased 
notably. Letters came from Greece. Slav soldiers or their re- 
latives used their own lang-uages in communicating with the 
Bureau. Their example was followed by the immigi'ants from 
the Scandinavian or Eastern countries. It socn became necess- 
ary, therefore, to increase the staff. 

The foreign cori-esipondence of the Bureau of War Risik 
Insurance embraces letters written in thirty different langua- 
ges. We may group them under several headings, as follows: 

1 — Latin correspondence. Letters written in the romance 
languages foi-m the bulk of all the foreign correspondence; 
chiefly Italian, French and Spanish. We have received letters 
in Portuguese and Roumanian, and translated numerous offi" 
cial documents from ecclesiasticail Latin. 

2 — The Slavic correspondence. All the Slavic languages 
are represented. The writer has handled letters and documents 
written in Russian, Polish, Bohemian, Slovak, Ruthenian, Slo- 
vene, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Paleoslav (Liturgical Slavcnic). 
To these languages, because of its geographical positioin, Li- 
thuanian may be added, although it is not a Slavic tongue. 

3 — The Scandinavian correspondence. Letters and docu- 
ments in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are grouped under 
this heading. 

4 — TheUi*al — Altaic languages, embracing letters 
written in Finnish, Esthonian and Hungarian. 

5 — The Greek correspondence. This is one cif the most 
important of the Bureau, and comes next in volume after the 
Italian correspondence. 

6 — The Germanic correspondence. Letters and docu- 
ments written in German, Dutch and Flemish. 

7 — The Semitic and Armenian correspondence. It em- 
braces letters and documents written in rabbinical Hebrew and 
Yiddish, and in Armenian and Arabic. 

8 — The Far-Eastern correspondence. It embraces letters 
and documents written in Japanese, Chinese and Hindustani. 
These languages are dealt with outside of the translation staff 
of the Bureau. 

9 — Malayan languages and Hawaiian. Hawaiian letters 
and ethers in fagalo, Vizayan, Becol, Tlocano and other Phi- 
lippine diialects, have been received. 

A isimple enumeration of these languages shows that the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance i's in touch with the most re- 
mote countries of the world. Within its narrow limits, the Bu' 
reau feels the thrdbbdng pulse of all the peoples who have al- 
igned themselves with America in the giant struggle against 
militaristic autocracies. Its staff hears, in the most varied 



lang^uages, the same voice of the "champion of free mankind". 

It is not an easy task to translate the documents the Bu- 
reau receives from its foreign correspondents, many of whom 
are ilhterate. The Italiamsi, who are exceedingly numerous, 
write in almost all the dialects of their .pix>vinces. Ajocording 
to their geographic position, the Greeks intei^erse their com- 
mon tongue with Turkish wonds, or they cull from their clas- 
sical writers the gaudiest ibloissoms of style. The Slavic writ- 
ers, especdally the Poles, seem to have forgotten entirely the 
rules C(f the national othography. The letters in the Slavic 
languages put to test, not only the grammatical and lexicogra- 
phical learning of their translators, but also their patience. 

I hajDpened once to pore over a letter whose strange 
words were variegated with frequent "van". "The writer is 
Dutch", I said to myself. But, to my great surprise, I found 
myself unable to draw out the hidden meanii:Lg of that unusual 
language. The words looked like Finnish, but the Finnish 
dictionary threw no light on the mystery of the apocalyptic 
sheet. It was unveiled, however, as soon as I read the first li- 
nes of the letter 'aloud. The writer had written in plain English 
while taking the liberty of transcribing the English words ac- 
cording to the Dutch pronunciation. 

In their rude and uncouth style, these foreign letters have 
a great human value. They show, as it were, that even the 
most illiterate among the soldiers have perceived the basis of a 
most profound philosophy of the war. Far from being the 
"dumb bayonets" of whom a Russian General once boasted, 
the S'Oijdiers enlisted in the American armies, from whatsoever 
corner of the world they (Came, are men who know for what 
they are fig'hting and why they are morally bound to fight. 
They are willing to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of all 
peoples and for a better social organization. Their letters 
breathe an aiv of serenity, of confidence, even when death lay 
in wait of their writers in the mud of the trenches. "We are 
fighting for America", say proudly these sons of the last hour, 
and they are happy because their adopted land has prctvided 
for their mothers, wives or children in the old country. The 
first impression, therefore, we receive, when reading these 
foreioTi letters, is that of the moral conquest by American 
ideaMsm of the alien elements, whom economic reasons, rather 
than religious or social ones, compelled to seek refuge on the 
hospitable soil of America. 

"Dear Sister," writes a Scandinavian, "I am now a sol- 
dier for Uncle Sam. I suppose you do not understand why I 
am going to the front when I do not have to, but this is a good 
and a free country, and worth fighting for. What would I have 



been if I had been in Denmark now? 1 will ^ive all I have to 
this country or for this country, and the only thing I have 
wcirth talking about lis my life, which is no better than that of 
anyione else. There are many married men that are going. I did 
not have to go but I wanted to go and I went. Remember 
America did not enter the war for gain! No! It is to make 
the world a good and safe place to live in ; it is to protect the 
small countries in Eurcfpe and for the future generation ; it is 
for my own sister that I and all the Amerioan soldiers fight, 
and I do not think we will .stQp before we reach Berlin and 
capture the Kaiser and the men he has around him. My dear 
sister, I have taken out, or rather Uncle Sam has given me an 
insurance policy whix^h you, my own darling girl shall have in 

case I shall be killed After the war, I will come home to see 

you and if ycu want to go, I will take you back with me to 
the far West, to the beautiful and free country, the only free 
country in the world, whidh has been much better to me than 
Denmark ever was or ever will be!" Greek soldiers express 
the same feelings. The war that demands of some of them the 
supreme sacrifice is a war of redemption. "I am sure", writes 
a Greek soldier to his father, "if anything should hai>pen to 
me that ycu will receive the news with heroism of a true 
Greek and that you will not be soiTy if you lose your son, who 
is fighting fort he safety of humanity, for Greece, and Amei- 
ica, and France." 

Here another quotation from a Greek letter, "I wish to 
inform ycii that I am a soldier in the American aniiy. I know 
that you will ,be sorry, as you are my parents, but think how 
the world is suffering today from the German menace. Every- 
body must do his bit. We must keep the Germans from at- 
tempting to dominate the world ; they have to understand that 
they are going to be defeated. We must let them knew that 
small nations have equal rights to live with the big na- 
tions, and we must no longer have the Gennan sword hanging 
over our heads." 

Liberty is a gift from God to humanity and nobody has 
the rig'ht to deprive them of it. The quc«tation that follows 
hamioniously blends the ancient ideals of classic Greece with 
the modern aspirations of the genuine American spirit. "The 
American government, with great energy, is preparing a big 
army, and every soldier expects to be sent over soon to fight 
the Hun. In their patriotic speeches, the officers mention our 
country, Greece, as being the first democracy in the world, 
from which the American democraicy is derived. Such kind 
words make me proud of my native country and I am ready to 
give everything for my adopted cne." 



From another Greek letter: *'I want to tell you that 1 am 
a soldier in the American Army, and I am very much i&atisfied. 
In a short time I will be isent to France to fig'ht for justice, 
and if my destiny has I'eserved the honor of my death there, 
you will remember that at least I have done something in this 
world, that I fciught for the liberty and rights of mankind." 

Let us have some quiotations from the letters of American 
soildiers of Italian descent. In cheerf uil fashion one of them des- 
cribes the hardshiips of the military life: "We are obliged to 
cook our meals without fire and ciur ,shoeis are in bad shape, 
with the soles broken, Imt, after all, we are hapipy to fulfill our 
duty towards our American flag." Others, and they are legion, 
lay stress upon their glory of being called to fight for the de- 
fence of civilization, vl freedom, and above all of America, the 
country where they have found what the pM Europe could not 
grant to them, democratic liberty. 

There is much in common in these letters. The words are 
different, but they express the same feelings. An exalted pa- 
triotism is not the monopoly, sc» to speak, of native Americans. 
It is vigorous in the souls of those who by the constant addi- 
tions of immigration are toiling and moiling to achieve in its 
minutest details the magnificent building cf American demo- 
cracy. One vecalls the iphrase of a keen oibserver w^ho wrote 
that ''A mian may be a good and patriotic citizen of the United 
States even though he knows no EngMsh. Like Francis Lieber, 
his heart may long have learned to throb American pulsations, 
though his lips may still be refractory in nationalizing them- 
selves." The truth cf this remark is brought out in any read- 
ing of the letters of the soldievs of foreign descent, or any 
study of their simple language. I think that there is no 
ground to fear a lessening of American ideals because of the 
streams of alien immigration. A subtle spiritual force works 
out the miracle cif transforming the illiterate, raw material 
coming to us into a virile manhood. New elements of life are 
added to the store of American vital power. That those ele- 
ments are mostly sound and morally strong, we may infer 
from this foreign icor-^-espondence. Like native Americans, they 
have fought for the same American ideals, with the same en- 
thusia'^m and the same gallantry. The moral fascination of 
American idealiism has been more powerful than racial anti- 
pathy, religious animosity, and social inequality. 

The second impression I have felt in translating the let- 
ters of the foreign allottees is that of a supreme exaltaticn of 
rnotherhood. All of us have spoken of the great ser- 
vices rendered by the women of the allied countries in the final 
crushing of German militarism. We are better acquainted, 



however, wilii how much the women have dc<ne than with how 
much they ave suffered. The inward tragedies of the mother's 
hearts have perhaps not been brought into relief. They are the 
heroines of the world war. They have refrained from tears and 
have smiled to fill their sons with the love of sacrifice; 
Whether Greek or French or Italian or Slav, the mothers of 
the American soldiers of foreign descent have found in their 
simple style words that have 'stirred up the most generous 
feelings in their sons' hearts. Their language at times reminds 
us of the liblest expression of the Spartan mothers. They are 
short poemis with a really tragic sublimity. In a 
few words they tell the story of endless martyrdom. *1 
have received the news of the death of my son", writes an Ita- 
lian mother. *'My heart bleeds to death, but I feel in every 
fibre that I have fulfilled my duty in allowing my son to be 
immolated for a loftiest and holiest cause." A Greek mother 
of Sparta shows in the following extract the genuineness cf 
her lineage: "As the ancient Spartan mothers used to send 
their sons to war with joyful songs, so do I, my son, from the 
sweet country of liberty, Greece, I send you my blessings and 
motherly kisses, and I pray to God and our Virgin to strength- 
en you in your fight against German brutality. Do not come 
back without the laurels of victory." A mother of the island 
of Crete, the nursery of the pioneers of Greek independence, 
bravely calls her son to face death : 'T know, my boy, that you 
are not strong enough, but the gallant soldiers when in the 
thick of the battle don't think of anything. They draw 
strength from the sacred conviction that they are facing death 
for the safety of mankind, and then they are strong as lions, 
and endure their sufferings withciut murmur. As a mother, of 
course, I shed tears, my son, but on the other hand I am proud 
to offer the life of my life upon the altar of liberty." 

I remember a letter of a Polish mother who, in a moment 
of despair, had claimed the im-mediate release of her scm from 
the army. She was dying of sorrow, of anger, of abandon. Two 
days after the sending of her previous letter, she wrote again 
to the Bureau: "I wish to call back what I said to you 
yesterday. When I think of so* many victims which the war 
has taken, and how terrible are its rava?:es, I am ashamed of 
myself. For the moment I was demented by a feeling of egot- 
ism, and I wished to have my son back. Let my son fulfill his 
duties as it behooves a faithful son of my country. I will never 
be against anything which the war makes necessary, and es- 
pecially w'hat is required by such a great President as Wilson. 
I am readv to endure the mo^t cruel tcrm^ents, and I ask your 



forgiveness concerning my previous mistake, which I commit- 
ted in a moment of despair." 

The counsel that mothers give their isons is full of lofty 
ideas, and noble concepts. Note the language of an Italian 
mother: "We learn that yctu have been serving in the army 
for the rights of justice and freedom, for our love and dignity, 
for the greatness of America. I know this, beioause in spite of 
the fact that we are so far beyond the Ocean, we wisih you to 
give help with your youthful courage, and crush and trample 
dow^n forever our agelong enemies. No fears, no sighs escape 
from our bosoms, but though boundless space divides us from 
you, our encouragement and perennial blessings will be always 
with you." 

The third feeling awakened in me by the reading of the 
foreign coriespondence of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance 
is that of thankfulness tct America. AH the letters coming 
from foreign countries exalt the generosity of ''the nourisher 
of starving peoples", to quote the expression of a Greek writ- 
er. Thousands of families, hundreds of thousands of wctmen 
and ehildi-en, have been saved from starvation by the pay- 
ments from the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. 

Here is a quotation from the letter of an Italian mother: 
"My entire family united with myself, pray God that v/ar may 
end with victory for America, beoause Am.erica has practised 
the seven Vv^orks of me.vcy. She has given food to the starv 
ino-, and d^jstributed bread. Surely. God will protect all Am.e- 
ricans, and they Vv'ill be honored throughout the world. My 
prayer will be heard before God, and victory will be for Ame- 



rica." 



There is the characteristic feature of the Sicilian vivascity 
and Italian deference in a letter to President Wilson from an 
Austrian-bater of Palermo: "You cannot imagine the happi- 
ness that the little, old Italian father of a soldier feels after 
reading' your m:ag'nanimous words, and of the good that you 
are doiiig for all the people of the w^hole v/orld, and cf the 
peace that will be berlowed by God through so worthy a per- 
son. I read these words on a picture of your handsome and 
gracious perscQ — Wo will win the war for world peace. — 
I do not care for the fact that my son was a.ble to send m.e 
twenty-five or thirty dollars a month before his enlistment, 
provided v/e sliall be ab^.e to destroy the tyrant, and cry aloud : 
JL:ong livi^ President Wilson! Long live the Anny! Long live 
i^ m.erica !" 

Same of the Ita-iian letters are impregnated with the 
riost delicate feelings of maternal love and religious gratitude. 
"I have received your m.oney, dear, dearest son. I have kissed 



h. J went to Church to lig-ht candles before the image of the 
Blessed Virgin. I have thought of the days when I have denied 
to myself a morsel of bread to nourish you. My blessings upon 
you, dearest son! May they be as numeroujs as the drops of 
milk I gave you. I shall net squander the money which gener* 
ous America grants you. 1 am satisfied with a piece of bresad. 
I will wait for you, and keeip your money, and when you will 
come back, crowned with the laurels of victory, I shall accom- 
pany you to the Church; we shall pray together, and adorn 
the altar of the Blessed Virgin with flowers and candles." 

We are at the end of our quotations. They tell of the Bu- 
reau of War Risk Insurance more and better than the most 
eloquent self-eulogies. In a recent .address to the employes of 
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Colonel Henry D. Lindsley 
wrote : ''The work in Which we are engaged is one of the most 
remarkable undertakings in all history, both in magnitude and 
puiipose. The War Risk Insurance Aict is a monument to civi- 
lization, and those who are privileged to help in its administra- 
tion are rendering a social service that is the highest exipres" 
sion of the humanity which our soldiers and sailjors fought to 



save." 



And that is the Bureau of War Risk Insurance not only 
according to the verdict of native Americans, but also aocoi^d- 
ing to that of a plebiscite of all the nations. And no doubt, 
when fulfilling their task, when weary of their labors, when 
moetint?- with obstacles in their mission, the tireless w^orkers 
connected with it think of the many tears that have been 
dried by their toil, they deeply feel the nobility of their call, 
and the honor f writing the brightest page of the history of 
beneficent America. 




}J^f^fiR 



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